Where I Stand: If Minnesota Doesn’t Want the Vikings, They Shouldn’t Have Them.

Yes, I am a Minnesota Vikings fan, generational and nomadic, with no roots in the state of Minnesota. And yes, it’s been a rough year. More than my rival team fans can actually imagine.

I moved my family to eastern Wisconsin, home of the Vikings’ embittered rival Packers, during the debacle that was the 2010 season. The season that started off with Super Bowl aspirations, but ended with ten humiliating defeats, a scandalized quarterback, a fired coach and a collapsed stadium. Oh, and the Packers won the Super Bowl. Their fans, whom I live around, still have happy circle dances around me. My life is daily and lonely martyrdom.

On top of that, there’s still the chance that the Vikings won’t make any headway through Minnesota’s government to build a new stadium in the metropolitan area, potentially leaving their 30-year-old shack for the shiny new stadium . . . in Los Angeles.

So yeah, it’s been a rough year.

What’s happening with the stadium?  It’s complicated and embarrassing. The Vikings, as their vice president would confirm, have done everything the state has asked for approval, and things have largely been looking good for a new stadium to be built in the nearby suburb of Arden Hills. However, opposition has risen, both from Viking haters and fans alike. Haters don’t realize the cost of losing a profitable NFL team. Some Viking fans don’t want to pay the cost (a small tax increase?) of keeping them. This opposition (even though some of it wants the Vikings in Minnesota) could certainly hinder the stadium bill.

My thoughts? If Minnesota doesn’t want the Vikings, then they shouldn’t have them.

My late father found the Vikings during his grade school years in Duluth. He carried his fan-hood to eastern Tennessee, to Chicago, and then to Dallas before he passed it to me. I, then, carried it back to Chicago, then to Iowa, Philadelphia and now, Wisconsin. Only on occasion have I been able to visit the Vikings’ home state and attend their games. Though I’m a proud part-Scandinavian, I’ve always liked Minnesota because of the Vikings, not the other way around. This does set me apart from Viking fans who, upon the team’s departure from the state, would sell their memorabilia on eBay.

So, if the Vikings are no longer in Minnesota, where does that put me? It’s a good question.

I have many Packer friends who are hermit-Wisconsinites, and they, trying to convert me (as they have succeeded with other newcomers), have asked what it would take for me to become a Packer fan. I replied, “If the Vikings and the Chicago Bears ceased to exist, then maybe I’ll consider.” (Some close friend Bear fans rather suggested I become a Detroit Lions fan first). I do also have friends from the east coast who are Indianapolis Colts fans, following the Colts since they left Baltimore, surprisingly not cheering for the Ravens. And I don't even want to scratch the surface of loyalty issues in Ohio.

So, which route should I take? If the Vikings become Los Angeles’s team and keep their name (how much Scandinavian heritage is in southern California?), should I follow? Should I wait for the state of Minnesota to realize their error and build another football team in a few decades (like they did with other teams)? Or should I consider the Vikings and my generational fan-hood a retired cause and honor the rest of my Chicago roots, becoming a full-blooded Bear fan?

Time will tell, but I’d rather not consider any of those options.